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NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive

USS LSM-202


International Radio Call Sign:
November - Victor - Alpha - Victor
 NVAV
Awards, Citations and Campaign Ribbons


Precedence of awards is from top to bottom, left to right
Top Row - Combat Action Ribbon (retroactive, Iwo Jima)
Bottom Row - American Campaign Medal - Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal (1) - World War II Victory Medal
LSM-1 Class Landing Ship Medium:
  • Laid down, 5 January 1944, at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE.
  • Launched, 15 March 1944
  • Commissioned USS LSM-202, 1 May 1944, LT. David Thurlow USNR in command
  • During WWII USS LSM-202 was assigned to the Asiatic-Pacific Theater:
    LSM Flotilla Five, CDR. W. H. Carpenter USN (26);
     LSM Group Fourteen, LCDR. A. E. Lind USNR;
     LSM Division Twenty-Seven and participated in the following campaign:

    Asiatic-Pacific Campaign
    Campaign and Dates
    Iwo Jima operation
    Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, 19 February to 26 February 1945
    :
  • Decommissioned, 19 November 1945
  • Struck from the Naval Register in 1946
  • USS LSM-202 earned one battle star for World War II service
  • Final Disposition, sold in June 1946, to Northwest Merchandizing Service, Seattle, WA., fate unknown
    Specifications:
    Displacement 520 t.(light), 743 t. (landing) 1,095 t.(fully loaded)
    Length 203' 6" (ovl)
    Beam 34' 6"
    Draft
    light, 3' 6" forward, 7' 8" aft
    fully loaded, 6' 4" forward, 8' 3" aft
    Speed 13.2 kts. (max.), (928 tons displacement)
    Complement
    5 officers
    54 enlisted
    Armament
    one twin bow mounted 40mm gun
    four single 20mm gun mounts
    Vehicle/Boat Capacity 5 medium or 3 heavy tanks, or 6 LVT's, or 9 DUKW's
    Fuel Capacity
    Diesel 1,225 Bbls
    Troop Accommodations
    2 officers
    46 enlisted
    Armor 10-lb. STS splinter shield to gun mounts, pilot house and conning station
    Endurance 4,900 miles @ 12kts.(928 tons displacement)
    Propulsion
    two Fairbanks Morse (model 38D81/8X10, reversible with hydraulic clutch) Diesel engines, direct drive with 1,440 BHP each @ 720rpm
    Ship's Service Generators
     two Diesel-drive 100Kw 450V A.C.
     one Diesel-drive 20Kw 120V D.C.
    twin propellers, 2,800shp
    Click On Image
    For Full Size Image    		 Size Image Description Contributed
    By
    LSM-202 165k LSM-202 on the builders ways at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE., circa February 1944.
    US Navy photo from NARA II, College Park, MD..    		 Tracy White
    LSM-202 101k LSM-202 side launching at Dravo Corporation, Wilmington, DE., 15 March 1944.
    US Navy photo # N-22101B.    		 Bill Brinkley and the USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-202 141k USS LSM-202 beached at Iwo Jima, 19 February 1945. Marine vehicles and equipment litter the beach as they are bogged down in the soft volcanic ash of the island. Note wrecked LCVP AP-154-21 from USS Lowndes (APA-154).
    USMC photo # 15-8    		 Tom Kermen
    Courtesy of Jose "Andy" Vigil, USMC WWII
    and Robert Hurst
    LSM-202 97k USS LSM-202 beached at Iwo Jima on D-Day, 19 February 1945. Marine vehicles and equipment litter the beach as they are bogged down in the soft volcanic ash of the island. The LCVP at right is from USS Lowndes (APA-154).
    USMC photo by Sgt. R. W. Hulstay, 5th Marine Division, from "Leatherneck" magazine, US Marine Corps photo # USMC 109604.    		 John Finch LSM-26
    Courtesy Jim Tusing LSM-372,
    Editor "Alligator Alley" The Newsletter
    of the USS LSM - LSMR Association
    LSM-202 100k USS LSM-202 beached while Marines unload supplies, D-Day 19 February 1945. LCT-1028 is underway in the background.
    US Marine Corps photo from "Leatherneck" magazine.    		 USS LSM / LSMR Association
    LSM-202 26k USS LSM-202, far distance, and LCT-631, near distance, beached at Iwo Jima, 21 February 1945. Michael Hollis for his father LTjg. Jack D.Hollis, USS LCS(L)(3)-31 and LCS(L) Group Seven staff.
    LCS(L)(3)-51 33k USS LSM-202 beached at Iwo Jima. USS LCS(L)-51 is in the foreground, circa later part of February 1945 Michael Hollis, courtesy Louis Plant SM1/c LCS(L) Group Seven staff.
    LSM-202 106k USS LSM-202 unloading vehicles on Yellow Beach #1 the day after the main landing on Iwo Jima.
    US National Archives Photo # 127-GW-112135, a US Marine Corps photo now in the custody of the National Archives in College Park, MD.    		 Tracy White
    LSM-238 83k USS LSM-419, USS LSM-238, USS LSM-98 and USS LSM-202 beached at Iwo Jima, between 23 and 28 March, or between 20 to 23 August 1945 Claude H. Hewitt, for his father Claude Hewitt, SM3/c USS LSM-238
    The history extract for USS LSM-202 is from LSM-LSMR Amphibious Forces, Vol. II. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company, © 1997. (ISBN 1-56311-389-9).
    Commanding Officers
    01LT. Thurlow, David, USNR1 May 1944 - September 1945
    02LTjg. Hood, Frank, O., USNRSeptember 1945 - 19 November 1945
    Courtesy Wolfgang Hechler
    Crew Contact And Reunion Information
    U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation - Navy Log
    USS LSM-LSMR Association
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    This page is created and maintained by Gary P. Priolo
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History
    Last Updated 26 April 2019